The Engineer's Notebook

The Engineer's Notebook is a shared blog for entries that don't fit into a specific CR4 blog. Topics may range from grammar to physics and could be research or or an individual's thoughts - like you'd jot down in a well-used notebook.

Paint and Kid Pix have been in continuous production since their launch dates of 1985 and 1989, respectively. That’s probably part of the reason online communities freaked out on July 24 when Microsoft announced a “deprecated” label for the program when the Windows 10 Fall Creators update hits later this year. The label isn’t necessarily the same as a “slated to removal” label, but Microsoft says deprecated apps are “not in active development and might be removed in future releases.” It’s safe to say that Microsoft has called Paint’s number and now it’s only a matter of time before it disappears.

Paint was never meant to be much more than a simple graphics editor and was always functionally behind other editors like Photoshop. It was totally limited to bitmap and PCX formats until 1998, and Microsoft made no major overhauls until 2009, when the program gained a much-needed ribbon interface. Paint is still the go-to program for quickly and easily cropping or resizing images, or simply scribbling out an idea, but it’s had lots of competition from Adobe and Mac editors as well as free online editor tools.

While news of the deprecation has spurred a bit of outrage and even tears from online commenters, there’s more to this story than meets the eye. First, Microsoft launched Paint 3D last year to simplify production of 3D-printed parts, so one could imagine the company discontinuing Paint but incorporating its simple handy features into a new iteration of Paint 3D at the same time. And the program could remain in the deprecated column for an indefinite period, so it’s not nearly dead at this point. Microsoft could simply let the program slip from development and let it fade away on its own time.

Also on Microsoft’s killed/deprecated list are Outlook Express, 3D Builder, and the Reader app, but if online reaction is any sort of bellwether users are much, much more upset about their beloved Paint.

Re: Is Microsoft Killing Off Paint?

08/03/2017 9:26 AM

I'm hoping if they kill it off, they'd replace it with a more capable/powerful program that comes with Windows by default. It doesn't need to be anywhere near as powerful as PS, but I'm sure the need for quick image editing has grown past the basic functions of Paint. Maybe a replacement will include layers of some sort, or editing/saving of GIF. I've found myself wishing for something with those capabilities a number of times before but since Paint couldn't do it, and it wasn't important enough or I had insufficient motivation to go and fine a program that could, I just kind of forgot about it.

Re: Is Microsoft Killing Off Paint?

08/03/2017 9:59 PM

Well that's a relief, I thought for a moment Microsoft had diversified and was trying to get rid of coloured building and car coatings and replace them with some sort of configurable software-programmable smart surface coatings that you can change the colour or images at will.

Now these things are in development so it is not totally out of the question but I just couldn't bare the thought of driving down the road and seeing houses covered in the Microsoft "blue screen of death" pattern.

Re: Is Microsoft Killing Off Paint?

08/07/2017 8:48 PM

I've heard that there is a program called "Paint.net" that is much better, but I've never tried it.

What I use for photo editing is one named "FastStone" which does the simple stuff I want to do plus it is free. My occasional wish is for a capability to do edge smoothing; if it will, I haven't found it yet. You can easily add pixels, but it doesn't get rid of pixelation.

Re: Is Microsoft Killing Off Paint?

08/14/2017 10:25 PM

I have several graphics programs, but I use paint the most just because it's fast and easy....I have probably 5 different graphics programs each has certain capabilities that are needed from time to time, but I use paint everyday...it's like the notepad of graphics and the desktop calculator, they facilitate the speed necessary to make working with the computer an enjoyable experience at a basic level....These programs will probably never go away, although in the future they may be supplied by different sources....

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